Non-American Equestrian Team Takes Center Stage, Soaring to Victory in Nations Cup Spectacle

The prestigious equestrian competition, the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final 2023, has come to an end. The week witnessed world-class athletes showing their impeccable skill and dedication and gave tough competition to the opponents at Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain. With the race being as difficult as it is, team USA could not make it to the number one spot, instead, it was another team who put on an unexpected performance.

The German team that won the Nations Cup Final showed an impressive performance and was ahead of all their opponents. The Cup held another important element which was the reason for adding attention to it. It had a single berth for qualification to the next year’s Paris Olympics for non-qualified nations appearing in the tournament. This berth was claimed by the South American team, Brazil. However, after the all rides and takes the German athletes shined at the event and caught the eye of the game followers.

German equestrian team’s special performance

The German team claimed the coveted FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final 2023. This was the second time they won the title after winning it in 2016. This year, in Barcelona, the team had a good start in the first round with two of its athletes successfully riding without any faults. They qualified for the final round and placed in the third position with four faults in 240.03 seconds. The Horse Network posted multiple photos on their Instagram handle and captioned it “The Germans didn’t just get the job done in Barcelona, they left no question about it, taking the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final on a team total of on Sunday.”

In the finals, they didn’t have a perfect start. Jana Wargers riding his 14-year-old mare Dorette took the first round of the day. But it was not his day as he completed his ride with eight faults in 82.54 seconds. Then came Christian Kukuk riding his 13-year-old gelding Checker 47 and hit a perfect score with a faultless 80.89 second ride.

Hans-Dieter Dreher came next riding Elysium and, despite some tough moments in the ride, he completed it with clear jumps in 83.03 seconds. Now, all eyes were on Richard Vogel and his 11-year-old United Touch S. They didn’t disappoint the team and completed their ride without any faults in 82.57 seconds. The final score was faultless in 246.49 seconds. France secured the second spot with Belgium claiming the third.

But, all was not over yet with a place for the Paris Olympics yet to be booked. The United States and Brazil were fighting for that position, and in the end, Brazil claimed the berth after finishing fourth in the final tally.

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Team USA falls short at the Nations Cup finals

The United States jumping team had one change from their last first-round game. Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue replaced Jessica Springsteen and Don Juan in the finals. But, unfortunately, it didn’t work out for the team US as Devin Ryan completed his ride with eight faults in 84.86 seconds.

The start by the marquee athlete McLain Ward was not fruitful as he got four faults in his ride of 83.87 seconds. Karl Cook also had a bad day and the veteran Laura Kraut had a perfect ride but was beyond the time limit and attracted single faults in 87.62 seconds. The US team fell behind the Brazilians with a fault and 0.35 seconds and was placed fifth.

Now, they have one last chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics at the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games. The German team showed a formidable performance at the finals. The Brazilians claimed the Olympic spot in a tight fight with the US, which has its eyes fixed on Santiago for Olympic glory.

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